


Sleep deprived

by Mousekins



Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Aged up for the sake of giving them an excuse to live together, I titled the document 'good tired boys comfort each other bc nightmares are a bitch', Lucas and Ness have nightmares and it's not fun, M/M, Mentions of Major Character Death, honestly pure fluff and a little angst, please help these boys, shippy if you squint but it's definitely there and pretty obvious, sleep deprived bois, spoilers for mother 3 and the end of mother 2, weird uses of PSI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 21:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18199640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mousekins/pseuds/Mousekins
Summary: They were both experiencing nightmares from their respective journeys, so they bed-up to make sure no nightmares come their way.But things are never as easy as that, are they?





	Sleep deprived

Ness had never been too experimental with his PK. He’d only ever used it for offensive and defensive purposes- elemental and shielding and healing, never really on another person for any other reason than defending himself. Lucas on the other hand seemed to have a lot of practice, fingers dancing softly down his spine and sending little jolts right to the good parts of his brain, his shoulders slumping and the soft amused laughter of the boy ringing into his ears. 

It had become a little routine for them and they’re not entirely sure just when it had started. Ness realised Lucas had one nightmare too many a night, and he realised that he’d wake up in cold sweats at 2am, unsure what he had just saw but knowing in his heart Giygas was still tormenting him from somewhere in his subconscious. 

Lucas had asked him about it once and Ness felt a little mean saying that he actually couldn’t tell Lucas what he had seen. The other didn’t seem to take any offense to it but he’d explained anyway that the form the thing took was literally indescribable. It felt like somebody crying and screaming in pain but the chords were strangled and the world was distorted. 

Lucas had flinched slightly at this.

Ness remembers holding Lucas tightly one night when, on his 17th birthday, he had cried and cried over the loss of his twin and his mother within months of each other. How he shouldn’t have taken that badge, how his brother could still be here if he’d just taken it off during their final moments together. Ness still continued to feel guilt that he couldn’t place because of it. 

“You’ve zoned out again,” Lucas pulls him back, draping his arms over his shoulders and tiredly nuzzling into his cheek. Somehow tiredness made the blonde more affectionate, usually he’d be too nervous to touch, holding him in specific ways reminded him too much of being held by his mother. Holding him in others reminded him of Claus’ last breath and Ness tried extremely hard to not evoke the sensitive memories. “You’ve been doing it a lot more, lately…” Ness laughs a little and nods.

“Sorry.” It’s all he can really say as Lucas looks at him through lidded eyes, the bags had gotten worse between them. Tonight they were too tired to care about sharing a bed, it sounded like a great idea to have the comfort of another person there in case a nightmare showed forth again. Ness knew the patterns of Lucas’ nightmares- Mom, Dad, Claus, himself. It always started as a dream, his Mom would be there with open arms in a sunflower field and as he ran towards her, the sunflowers would wilt, and she would be on the floor in a pool of blood. The next would be his Dad lashing out at the villagers, except he’d grow into a half-mechanical beast with a tooth missing. Then Claus would appear, smiling, and the moment Lucas’ hand touched him he would die.

Lucas would hate being touched after that dream, the irrational fear that Ness would die would overcome him and he’d put a shield around himself. Ness could still touch him through it- it would only negate the sensation Lucas felt, but he wouldn’t touch him. He had respect for Lucas’ boundaries.

Ness flops backwards onto the bed, Lucas making a soft ‘eep’ as he’s softly crushed beneath Ness’ weight, and they’re both in giggles before Ness gets off and opens his arms as an invitation to cuddle up for the night. Lucas accepts and Ness is relieved. It takes them a moment to actually settle, covers lightly kicked away so their shared heat stops being overwhelming. 

It’s not long before he’s awoken by the sounds of whimpering and soft sobs. His mind takes a moment to adjust to suddenly being awakened, and when it does his hand is shaking at Lucas in attempt to wake him. 

“Lucas? Lucas?” The other wakes up with a start, sitting up in the bed and curling his knees to his chest. At least he woke up. With all of the tenderness he can muster, his arms wrap around the quivering boy as he murmurs little hushes and coos that he’s there and it’s okay now. Half an hour passes before Lucas can talk to him.

“M-mom..” The first nightmare had settled in, and even after 8 years of battling with it, Lucas hadn’t won against his own mind just yet. The death of his twin had apparently made them worse, and Boney had helped significantly with his night terrors. Ness had hoped he could be an anchor too, but it wasn’t always that easy. The blonde turns in his arms and squeezes around his chest, the sobbing not stopping until Ness gently runs his fingers along his spine. 

He attempts, with a tentativity he hadn’t experienced before, to use his PK to help relax the boy in his arms. Ness channels the energy to his fingers, careful not to allow too much of his mind’s energy reach the tips. He allows the little tingles of energy creep from his fingers and into Lucas’ back- a gasp escaping the boy once they hit skin. Relief once again fills Ness when Lucas relaxes into him and he notices that in a way he’s using PK Lifeup, just an incredibly small dose of it. The other calms in his grasp and the rhythmic breathing causes Ness to realise that he’d managed to get Lucas to sleep, so he stops the channel of his power to watch over the other’s dreams.

He dared not to fall asleep. His worry over Lucas had surpassed his own tiredness, and he’s sure his own Mom would scold him for such behaviour- how are you meant to think properly when you’re just as tired as he is?- but as of this moment, he didn't care. He wanted to make sure that Lucas could conquer his nightmares. That he would be there for him when he woke up from his nightmares and have somebody to cling onto. His bags would get heavier and Lucas’ would get lighter, and he was fine with that. 

He wakes up to Lucas staring down at him, his heart racing against his ribs and the feeling of heat and chills and his stomach is twisting in his gut. He takes his first real breath when Lucas’ hand rests upon his chest, reminding him to breathe through the pain and the little flickers of Psychokinesis bubble through his abdomen. He relaxes, still cold, his hair stuck to his forehead. He doesn’t remember when he fell asleep, he doesn’t remember his dream- he shakily grasps at the other for support.  
“You’re awake,” Lucas starts, it sounds like an obvious thing to say, but it calms Ness’ mind some. “I’m here, I’m real, it can’t hurt you now.” His mind flickers back to the crushing feeling of terror he had felt upon seeing Giygas for the first time, and how when he returned home nothing else could scare him like that again. Not even the monsters under his bed, not even that weird spider he’d seen in the garden. The blonde pulls him back from his thoughts and they realise that they wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight either. He sighs as he sits up and Lucas uses an old, bundled up shirt to wipe away the sweat before he smiles at him. 

“I… don’t think I’ll be…” He barely finishes his sentence before Lucas hushes him and brings him in for a hug. Squeezing him softly against his chest and laughing without humour.

“I’ll stay up with you, too.” 

“... Thanks, Lucas.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boi this is my first fic in the mother/earthbound fanbase, I got into the game literally four days ago and wrote this out of heartache. Lucas needs more hugs, give this boy a hug button I'm begging you!
> 
> I was going to make this take place in smashverse because it makes more sense that way, but I'll let you decide on the details for that. :^)


End file.
